PORTLAND, Ore. -- San Antonio stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker took the night off Wednesday. No matter. As is usual when the Spurs are without their stars, the rest of the team got the job done. Patty Mills came off the bench to score 29 points, Marco Belinelli hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining and San Antonio rallied in the second half to pull out a 111-109 victory over the Trail Blazers. San Antonio has won two of three games this season when Duncan and Parker were both absent from the lineup. Mills helped fill the void with a 24-point second half. The fourth-year guard from Australia came off the bench to hit 13 of 26 shots against the Blazers. Belinelli had 20 points and Manu Ginobili 16 for San Antonio. Mills has been on a hot streak since the All-Star break concluded, scoring 25 and 29 points in the Spurs first two games back. "If it wasnt for him the last couple nights, we would have really struggled," San Antonio forward Danny Green said. "Hes doing what Tony usually does, in taking over in that fourth quarter." Mills explained his recent stretch in humble tones, saying "for me, its just been learning from great guys. Weve got three future Hall of Famers and a great coach, so Ive just sat back and learned." It wasnt just Mills, though. Belinelli hit four 3-pointers, and Tiago Splitter had 15 points and six rebounds in returning to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 6. "I thought the effort was fantastic," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Portland was without leading scorer and rebounder LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed the game with a groin injury and is expected to be out at least a week. Also sidelined were forward Joel Freeland (knee) and centre Meyers Leonard (ankle). Aside from Duncan and Parker, the Spurs also were without guard Kawhi Leonard (right hand). Damian Lillard scored 31 points, including 15 during the fourth quarter, for Portland. Coming off his first All-Star game appearance, Lillard hit 13 of 21 shots and handed out six assists. Mo Williams had 19 points and Wesley Matthews 18 for the Blazers. Without Aldridge, Freeland and Leonard, the Blazers had to resort to playing a small lineup. It resulted in erratic play, with stretches when the Blazers offence went missing. "We tried to beat San Antonio at their game and they did it better than us," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "San Antonio is used to playing these games without their guys and they plug guys in and they play well." Trailing 81-79 after three quarters, San Antonio took command when Green hit back-to-back 3-pointers to fuel a 10-0 run at the fourth quarters outset. The Spurs led by as many as 10 points, but the Blazers eventually pulled even at 101-101 on Matthews steal and dunk with 1:52 remaining. On San Antonios next possession, Belinelli hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:34 left to put the Spurs back on top. Portland led by as many as eight points during the first half, and settled for a 52-51 halftime lead. Both teams had big runs during a free-flowing third quarter. Mills finished an 8-2 run with a layup to give San Antonio a 69-61 lead. Portland responded with seven consecutive points, then took a 79-75 lead when Williams scored six consecutive points late in the quarter. NOTES: Portland was the last NBA team to use the same starting lineup this season until Wednesday, when Dorell Wright replaced Aldridge against San Antonio. The Blazers are the first team since the 2010-11 Spurs to start the same lineup during its first 53 games. . Splitter returned to the lineup after missing the past four games with a calf injury. . Blazers forward Victor Claver, who hasnt played since Nov. 15 and has logged just three minutes of playing time this season, made a first-quarter appearance and played seven minutes . San Antonio concludes a nine-game road trip that began Feb. 3 on Friday at Phoenix. . 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Week 2s biggest games include Florida facing Miami and Notre Dame travelling to the Big House to conclude their rivalry against Michigan in primetime on TSN2 and TSN 1050.NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators wanted experience and a proven winner as their new head coach, and general manager David Poile believes thats what they got in hiring Peter Laviolette -- just the second coach in the franchises history. Laviolette has won nine of the 14 post-season series he has coached with the Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers. He also won the Stanley Cup in 2006 with Carolina and coached the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals in 2010. The Predators announced Tuesday they signed him to a multi-year contract. "Weve taken a big leap in the right direction getting our team back on the path, and that path is toward the playoffs," Poile said at a news conference. The Predators reached the Western Conference semifinals in 2011 and 2012 but missed the playoffs the past two seasons. Laviolette will take over in Nashville once he finishes coaching the United States at the 2014 World Championship. He said in a statement he loves the Predators nucleus starting with defenceman Shea Weber and goaltender Pekka Rinne. "My challenge will be to impart a system that enables our young forwards to thrive and reach their offensive potential," Laviolette said. "Being a perennial Stanley Cup contender requires buy-in, passion and commitment from every player on the roster. I cant wait to get to Nashville and get started on our journey." Poile said hes known Laviolette for years through USA Hockey. Also general manager of the 2014 U.S. Olympic team, Poile named Laviolette one of that teams three coaches. He also interviewed Laviolette for the Predators job along with a couple others he did not name originally planning to hire his new coach in June. Openings in Florida, Carolina, Washington and Vancouver prompted Poile to move quicker to avoid losing Laviolette. Poile said he was very comfortable hiring Laviolette. "Basically in some form, I was interviewing him all year long," Poile said. Laviolette has been a head coach over 12 seasons starting with the New York Islanders between 2001 and 2003, Carolina from 2003-09 and Philadelphia frrom 2009 until October.ddddddddddddHe has 389 wins and 866 career points and six playoff berths, winning nine series. He helped the Islanders end a seven-year post-season drought with back-to-back berths in 2002 and 2003, and the Flyers lost the cup to Chicago in six games in 2010. Laviolette is considered an offensive-minded coach with his teams finishing in the Top 10 in six of his eight full seasons and not lower than 13th in goals scored. That helps fill a major need for the Predators who scored only 216 goals this season when they finished three points out of the final Western Conference playoff berth. Poile said he wanted a coach with a different style of play, and Laviolettes teams play more up-tempo and are more offensive oriented. Thats what Poile wants out of the Predators. The general manager said theyve been working to improve their forwards, including trading Martin Erat in March 2013 for Filip Forsberg and David Legwand to Detroit this March for Calle Jarnkrok. Forward also is likely to be the position the Predators draft with the 11th pick overall in June. Young forwards already on the roster will get a second chance with Laviolette. Mix that with what Poile believes is one of the best defences in the NHL, and he expects the Predators to be back in the playoffs next year. "With his system and different ideas if you will, I think offensively we have a chance to be a lot better under his leadership," Poile said. Forward Matt Cullen helped Laviolette win the Stanley Cup in Carolina and is looking forward to playing for him again. "Hes a great fit for our team and what we need going forward," Cullen said on a conference call. "And I just think a lot of Peter as a coach. Hes a good person, and he just has that real ability to bring out the best in all of his players." The Predators also hired Kevin McCarthy as an assistant coach. He joins assistant coaches Phil Housley and Lane Lambert. They worked with Barry Trotz, the only other coach for this franchise who the Predators announced April 14 that he would not return. ' ' '